Two of the top teams in the National Hockey League are set to square off Friday from Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is the Vegas Golden Knights and the New York Rangers.
The Vegas Golden Knights are the defending Stanley Cup Champions. The Golden Knights are comfortably in a postseason spot at this point. Vegas is 28-14-6 on the season. Their 62 points is second in the Pacific, and tied for fourth overall in the Western Conference. The Golden Knights are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, and have gone 10-9-4 on the road this season.
The New York Rangers hold the top spot in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers are 29-15-3, which is four points ahead of Carolina. The Rangers trail Boston and Florida in the Eastern Conference. New York is coming off a loss, and have struggled a bit as of late. The Rangers are just 3-5-2 in their last 10. New York is 15-6 when playing at home this season.
The New York Rangers are -155 over Vegas here. The total is set at 6. Vegas is +130 on the moneyline.
Defending Cup Champions
Vegas is without two of their top offensive players in William Karlsson and Jack Eichel. Karlsson was recently transferred to the long term injured list. He has been out since January 1st. He has 32 points on the season. Mark Stone has taken over as the top scorer, since Eichel went out. Stone has 49 points on the season. Eichel has not played since January 11th.
Vegas is 15th in goal scoring, with 3.17 goals per game. Defense has been the calling card for the Golden Knights, as they are allowing just 2.71 goals per game. In between the pipes for the Golden Knights has been Logan Thompson and Aidan Hill. Thompson gets the lion’s share of games, but Hill is 11-2-2 on the season.
The Golden Knights will finish up their road trip on Saturday in Detroit. After they take a break, they will start the second half in a big showdown at home against Edmonton.
Home Sweet Home
The Rangers are glad to be back home. The road trip was not their best, as they lost three out of four. One of the games on the road was in Vegas, where the Golden Knights smacked them around 5-1. The last loss of the road trip was a bad one; 3-2 to the Sharks, who have the worst record in the NHL.
New York is scoring 3.21 goals per game, and allowing teams to score 2.83. The Rangers have the second best power play in the game. New York is scoring on 28.1% of their chances. The goaltending for the Rangers has been anchored by Igor Shesterkin. He is 19-11-1 with a 2.82.
Offensively, the Rangers are led by Artemi Panarin. He has 63 points on the season, which is 18 more than the second most. New York will play one more game before the break after this. The Rangers are in Ottawa on Saturday. After the break, New York starts the second half with home games against the Avalanche and Lightning.
Rangers Get Revenge
Getting back home to Madison Square Garden is going to be huge for the Rangers. Look for them to play a well connected hockey game. We are betting the New York Rangers at home over the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Take the Rangers -130 over Vegas. Enjoy the game!
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